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GSA Testing Innovative Sustainable Technologies and Practices

WASHINGTON – GSA announced today that it will test and evaluate 16 emerging sustainable building technologies and practices in select federal facilities under its Green Proving Ground Program. Testing will determine the most effective technologies that may then be replicated on a wider-scale basis throughout the GSA inventory, with the goal of transforming markets for these technologies.

“GSA is leading the way in sustainable design and construction operations,” GSA Administrator Martha N. Johnson said. “By using our real estate portfolio as a test bed for new technologies, we can then provide further innovation in energy-efficiency standards and implement best practices that will lead the market.”

The technologies selected were from a pool of approximately 140 projects across GSA’s national portfolio that are currently implementing innovative or underutilized sustainable building technologies. The 16 technologies and practices were selected for evaluation because they have the greatest potential to meet GSA’s sustainability goals. Examples of the technologies chosen include wireless temperature sensors, electrochromic windows, high R-value windows, integrated lighting systems, thin-film photovoltaic panels, solar water heating with integrated photovoltaic panels, chilled beams, and nonchemical water treatment systems.

With support from the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories, the Green Proving Ground Program will perform enhanced testing, monitoring, and evaluation on these selected technologies. Notable findings from all of the projects will be used to support the development of performance specifications for GSA’s real estate portfolio and other federal agencies. Additionally, testing these technologies will assist industry in deploying the technology and practices studied.

For more information on the 16 technologies to be evaluated under GSA’s Green Proving Ground Program and on GSA’s registry of sustainable building technologies, visit http://www.gsa.gov/GPG.

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As the federal government's workplace solutions provider, the U.S. General Services Administration works to foster an effective, sustainable and transparent government for the American people. GSA’s expertise in government workplace solutions include:
• Effective management of government assets including more than 9,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 215,000 vehicles in the federal fleet, and preservation of historic federal properties;
• Leveraging the government’s buying power through responsible acquisition of products and services making up approximately 14 percent of the government’s total procurement dollars;
• Providing innovative technology solutions to enhance government efficiency and increase citizen engagement; and,
• Promoting responsible use of federal resources through development of government wide policies ranging from federal travel to property and management practices.